2018April
"To solve affordability crisis, Bay Area housing stock must grow 50 percent in 20 years"
When a region is fortunate enough to host the birth of a new industry, its population tends to increase. New jobs are created, attracting workers from outside the region who may bring their families. Those new employees need goods and services, which, in turn, attracts more workers and their families to arrive.
...More"Opinion: Real progressives would embrace Scott Wiener’s SB 827 housing bill"
There’s plenty of talk about “greedy developers” being the cause of our housing crisis but the people making out in this crazy market aren’t builders, but existing homeowners.
...More"There’s no good alternative to building more homes in expensive cities"
People can live elsewhere instead, but we’ll all be poorer if they do.
The sweeping land use reform bill introduced recently by California state Sen. Scott Weiner, a San Francisco Democrat, died in committee this week, bringing to an end an ambitious plan to change zoning in broad swaths of the state by allowing four- to five-story buildings near all rail transit stations and major bus corridors.
...More"Uber acquires e-bike startup Jump, expanding transportation options"
Uber is pedaling full throttle into electric-bike rentals. The ride-hailing company on Monday said it is buying Jump Bikes, the first company to provide stationless bike sharing in San Francisco.
...More"The San Francisco housing market is so absurd that teachers are living in dorms — even though their salaries are some of the highest in the country"
At current salary levels, teachers in many cities across the US can’t afford to live near the schools where they teach.
In San Francisco, less than 1% of homes on the market are affordable to the city’s schoolteachers, according to a new study from real-estate website Trulia.
...More"Why America Has Ditched Homeownership to Become a Renter Nation"
I see a major shift in the real estate market as we become even more of a renter nation. Why is it happening? Is there a silver lining to this economic cloud?
...More"Editorial: California can’t spend way out of housing crisis"
Of the myriad possible responses to California’s housing and homelessness crisis, the state’s politicians have a clear favorite: spending more money. But state and local governments’ evident difficulty using existing housing funds provides reason for skepticism.
...More"Architects around the globe are exploring “vertical land” to solve homelessness"
In an example of truly thinking in three dimensions, architects around the globe are beginning to envision housing in a different way. Dubbed “vertical land,” developers are essentially utilizing scaffolding and three-dimensional printing to build homeless shelters on the windowless sides of existing buildings.
...More"America’s Progressive Developers, San Francisco Edition: Patrick Kennedy"
Homelessness has long been a San Francisco problem, and with home prices rising, it’s arguably worse now than ever. A January report on SFgate.com claimed that the city’s homeless count is close to 6,700, and a local advocacy group estimates the count at 12,000.
...More
